Portrait of childhood in Illinois

The picture is not pretty.

Each year Voices for Illinois Children undertakes a comprehensive look at childhood in Illinois. Its 1994 Kids Count portrait is not encouraging.

The Voices study found that in terms of economic security, Illinois ranked 11th in the nation in per capita personal income in 1993 (at $22,582). But one in five Illinois children lived in poverty in 1991 and on average 1.2 million people — 500,000 households — received food stamps each month in fiscal year 1994.

In health care, Voices found that half of all children under 2 had not received proper immunizations. And though 671,979 children were covered by Medicaid in fiscal 1994, there were 393,000 children without health insurance coverage. The study also noted that 43 percent of chlamydia cases, 33 percent of gonorrhea and 12 percent of syphilis cases in 1993 occurred in persons under 19.

In education, Voices found that 59 percent of women whose youngest child is under age 6 are in the labor force. Seven percent of all schoolchildren dropped out of school in 1993. Only about half the children eligible for Head Start or state-sponsored pre-kindergarten programs receive services.

The Voices study also found a multitude of special needs among young people. An estimated 25,000 persons under age 21 were homeless in 1994, it said. Seventy-eight children under 19 died from abuse and neglect in fiscal 1993. One of every eight first births in the state is to an unwed teen without a high school diploma. In 1992, 39,007 juveniles were arrested, a 26 percent increase over 1985.

Figure 1. Risk indicators for Illinois families, 1992-1993 Infant mortality rate, per 1,000 live births Low birth weight babies, per 1,000 births Percent of Illinois children receiving AFDC Percent of births to single mothers under age 20, high school dropouts Percentage of births without first trimester prenatal care Percentage of eligible children enrolled in public preschool programs

Voices called for a comprehensive effort to brighten the picture for Illinois children, urging action by parents, schools, service and religious organizations and the private sector. "And the state," the report concluded, "which allocates vast resources to repair roads and bridges, must act to repair the crumbling human infrastructure in Illinois."

Donald Sevener

Figure 2 Comparision of various risk factors, Illinois and other states, 1991 Violent death rate of teenagers 15-19, per 100,000 Arrest rate for violent crimes, ages 10-17, per 10,000 Child death rate, ages 1-14 per 100,000 children Percent of all births to single teens

38/January 1995/Illinois Issues